ELR Citation: ELR 20293
No(s). IP 89-01-C (S.D. Ind. Aug 4, 1989)

The court holds that the city's exclusion of plaintiff's sanitary landfill from the city's list of approved solid waste disposal sites does not violate plaintiff's equal protection rights or the Sherman Antitrust Act. The court holds that the city's state action exemption from the Sherman Act applies. The city's authority to exclusively control the disposal of waste and to require haulers to deposit waste at sites designated by the city's Board of Public Works came from the state legislature, and the state action immunity applies to municipalities acting pursuant to state policy. The anti-competitive effect created by the city's actions would certaintly be reasonably foreseeable or a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the state's grant of authority. The court next holds that plaintiff's equal protection rights have not been violated. The court holds that the proper disposition of county trash is a legitimate state interest under the applicable rational basis test, and the city's decision not to choose plaintiff for landfilling arguably served a legitimate public purpose. The city chose to exclude plaintiff's landfill, at least in part, because the United States Environmental Protection Agency designated the landfill as a Superfund site on the national priorities list, and named the city as a potentially responsible party under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act for cleanup costs at the landfill. The reason for not selecting the plaintiff is legitimately debatable, since findings were made that further use of plaintiff for the disposal of waste would subject the city to further risk regarding its cleanup responsibility.

Counsel for Plaintiff
Warren D. Krebs
Parr, Richey, Obremskey & Morton
121 Monument Circle, Ste. 500, Indianapolis IN 46204-2994
(317) 632-3686

Counsel for Defendants
Stephen W. Terry Jr., Michael J. Huston, Lewis D. Beckwith, Robert K. Stanley
Baker & Daniels
300 N. Meridian St., Ste. 2700, Indianapolis IN 46204-2454
(317) 237-4535